If anyone is looking for a copper tube, Home Depot has inexpensive copper tubes that are(per the website) "3/8 inch rigid copper in 6 foot length" for $6.81 each! I might have to go by there this afternoon and get one so I can start on my earth battery.

Oh, Lowes has:
JMF
1/2" x 6" Copper Repair Coupling

Item #: 24706       Model: 24000001

for $2.57 here in Montgomery, AL.

@ Timmy:

You would be much better off with a carbon rod on the + side and magnesium on the - side.  This would give you a usable output.  The copper set-up you are speaking of will give you measurable output, but I don't think you will be able to do anything with it.  I am going back to my original configuration (as mentioned above) to attempt to lite some Christmas lights (LEDS) using also my joule thief.

Bill

Quote from: Pirate88179 on December 08, 2008, 12:44:19 AM
@ Timmy:

You would be much better off with a carbon rod on the + side and magnesium on the - side.  This would give you a usable output.  The copper set-up you are speaking of will give you measurable output, but I don't think you will be able to do anything with it.  I am going back to my original configuration (as mentioned above) to attempt to lite some Christmas lights (LEDS) using also my joule thief.

Bill

Can you suggest somewhere to get the magnesium? I can get a carbon rod at Hobby Lobby. It's the only place around here I've found that carries them. I've quickly checked for magnesium, but I don't know where to find any. 

@ Timmy:

I have been using the magnesium fire starter blocks which can be found in the camping section of Walmart and many other stores.  There are some close-up pictures on this topic way back somewhere if you don't know what I mean.  The price on these vary greatly depending where you buy them but I paid about $4.00 US ea. and bought 3 of them.  They are about 3" long and 1.5" wide x1/2" thick of pure magnesium.  These are designed for starting a campfire, even in the rain, by shaving off some of the magnesium and then hitting it with a spark to set the little chips ablaze.  1 worked fine for a while but I got higher mA's when I zip tied the 3 of them together. (more mass I guess)  The carbon rod I used I bought from a welding supply company.  It is 1" dia x 18" long and cost about $20.00.  It is pure carbon and had no copper cladding on it at all.

I just bought a string of 100 LED lights on sale for $9.00.  Heck, if I bought them at Radio Shack, I could have only bought about 5 LEDs for the same money.

If the carbon at Hobby Lobby is small diameter and not too expensive, you might try banding some of them together with some plastic ties to increase the mass amount.  Then remember to place in the ground on the north/south meridian, which is probably not magnetic north in your area.  Carbon + to the north, magnesium- to the south.  you should see some decent output. (I hope)

Hope this helps.

Bill

edit: removed text to limit bandwidth.

The following two links are interesting to me and I feel relate to the ever changing earth potentials.
About "lightning" in clear weather:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/fort/land/land31.htm

About a flux transfer event between the earth and the sun:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27525165/wid/17621070